Infographic: Concocting the Perfect Digital Mix

Infusing digital into the marketing mix is essential to having a smooth strategy. But digital marketing efforts don't have to come at a premium. According to the “2014 Digital Marketing Landscape: The Power of Digital Experiences Benchmark Study,” 28% of organizations—including agencies, B2B firms, B2C companies, and B2B2C businesses—allocate 1 to 15% of their marketing budgets to digital. Another 18% of organizations surveyed dedicate 16 to 30% of their budgets to digital channels, and 12% of respondents allocate 31 to 45%. Still, many organizations rank digital as a top-shelf priority. For instance, 59% of respondents rate digital as a “high” or “very high” priority.

And while some marketers take a more old-fashioned approach to digital, others prefer a more modern twist. Websites (97%), campaign-specific landing pages (75%), content targeting (53%), and personalization (47%) are just a few ways organizations approach digital marketing today, according to the study. But no matter what the flavor, relying on digital can lead to big benefits. For instance, organizations surveyed list visits, page views, likes, or follows (74%); growing brand awareness (64%); and generating more leads (49%) as some of the benefits of creating digital experiences.

Yet, common challenges can sometimes leave companies' digital marketing experiences on the rocks. For example, 57% of organizations list development efforts as a challenge when creating digital experiences, according to the study. Other challenges included the rapid evolution of technology (56%), cost (46%), and availability of employees with the right skills (41%).